The Louisiana Senate Committee on Health and Welfare is currently considering a new bill to increase pharmacists’ reimbursements for services. SB 82 would require the Louisiana Department of Health to submit a state plan amendment to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to enhance reimbursement for services within a pharmacist’s scope of practice. In effect, SB 82 would provide a consistent stream of income and ensure that pharmacists get recognition (and revenue) for those services.

At the start of the new year, the flower or "smokable" form of medical marijuana has become legal in the state of Louisiana. This new legislation has created quite a buzz, with pharmacies seeing overwhelming sales and high demand for the product. Receiving medical marijuana will require a doctor recommendation, followed by the patient visiting with a local licensed pharmacist. Patients can also just go straight to their pharmacist to get a prescription and a recommendation on what products will work best for their situation.

A new law developed by Louisiana lawmakers will prohibit health insurers from implementing a pharmacy policy known as "white bagging." White bagging refers to when health insurers don't allow providers to supply a drug for their patients, but instead requires them to use a third-party specialty pharmacy to dispense the drug to the provider first. Under this new law, health insurers in Louisiana cannot deny payment to providers if they receive physician-administered drugs from a pharmacy that is not in the health insurer's network.